Nezumi or Shadow of the Horned Rat!
by malkavsdevoted
Summary: Two young men battered by fate. One beaten and left for dead by his best friend. Another tossed aside by one who should have been a champion of his people. One a demon vessel, the other ...a demon!


Nezumi

Author's Notes:

To all those who have read my other stories(Dragon-Blooded & Primal) I am sorry about how long it's taking me to update. I'm working on three stories for this site, two different campaigns, building a game, and a novel. Please forgive the tardiness.

Now on to this story which is set in the aftermath of Naruto's failure to defeat Sasuke as per manga chapter 234. Do not worry my OC will not be the only main character but the story will only be told through his and Naruto's eyes.

""speech ''thoughts _italics_memory

Chapter 1: Ressurection

_"I cannot let you do this, Gennai!"_

Convulsions rocked the youth threatening to overturn the narrow hospital bed. Narrow features twisted by memories unrelenting grip he looked as much rat as man.

_"They do not deserve to live. Stop me if you can, my Prince."_

Lanky onyx hair spilled across the pillows as the bandaged boy continued to shake.

_"You have gotten better, Sadao. Given the years you may even rival myself. It is a pity that you will not have those years."_

A soft hissing whimper escaped his throat as the nightmare played to it's inevitable conclusion.

_"Gennai!"_

Bolting upright the soft hiss of before became an expression of agony as a dozen injuries protested. Bloodshot eyes of saffron opened slowly aching like the rest of him.

Sadao's POV

'Alive. I am alive.'

The room was what could only expect of a hospital room. Sterile, white, and espousing function over form. Only the air conditioner below the window and the monitor next to the bed broke the silence. Electrodes connected monitor and patient.

A sudden fit of coughing doubled me over coating my hands in a fine patina of blood. I never even saw the electrodes jerk out of the machine. The machine went flatline and - somewhere - an alarm went off in the nurse's station.

Moments later the door slammed open heralding the first of several frantic nurses. The gaggle (what other name can you give a group of nurses?) halted only a few feet into the room as the flatlining contraption crashed to the floorIt beeped once and went silent under my glare.

"S..sir, do you need help?"

"Where am I?" I growled at her. Not out of anger but as if that guttural sound is my voice.

The nurses, more than a little uneasy, spoke hesitantly despite the usual effect of crowds on courage "K..Konohagakure Hospital, in the intensive care unit."

'Village of the Hidden Leaf. One of the great shinobi villages. If they cared for my wounds they must not know. Yet.'

"I am leaving."

Unfortunately standing required greater strength than I had in my possession. A nurse caught me, nearly going down in the process.

"You aren't going anywhere." In the midst of her not-so-gentle forcible restraining of my limbs she barked an order at another nurse "Go get Hokage-sama."

Exhausted I had little choice but to lie there as the head nurse - I never did catch her name - shooed the other nurses away before leaving herself. What she said didn't register till I heard forceful footfalls coming our way.

'The Hokage? Why would she bring the Hokage to me? Does someone suspect?'

In spite of my alarm, though, my strength is still too depleted to do anything about it. The situation could not be any worse - weakened, unsure of my exact location, and surrounded by potential enemies. This is simply horrid.

'I will rip Gennai's throat out for this!'

"So you are awake."

Startled by the distinctly unforgettable voice I, for the second time in ten minutes, sat up far too quickly sending my head spinning. The Hokage - for who, more qualified, existed in Konoha than one of the Sannin? - caught me and propped me up carefully against the headboard giving me my first good look at Tsunade in nearly fifteen years.

"Hmm."

The woman before me did not look the fifty plus years she must have seen. Indeed, she looked not one jot older than the first time I saw her and just as perfect.

And just as immodest.

A partially open gi valiantly struggled against her natural endowments from it's fastening point somewhere just above her navel it seemed. Auburn eyes watched me warily but kindly as if unsure of me. The powerful blond sat comfortably next to me on the bed.

"How are you feeling?"

I guess she does not recognize me but, after all, I was only four at the time.

"I...have felt better."

Tsunade laughed "I'd bet on that!"

Laughter seemed like a bad idea so I grinned. It really wasn't funny but who am I to tell her that?

"How long have I been here, Hokage-sama? How did I come to be here?"

'How long has Gennai had to carry out his insane plans?'

She raised an eyebrow at my rudeness in asking questions without giving my name but the urgency of the queries won out.

"You've been here for nearly a week." My right eye twitched at the news - 'A week and I am still injured?' - "One of my shinobi found you while returning from a mission in the Waterfall Country. She brought you here for medical attention."

Sighing, I glanced out the window onto the prosperous Village of the Hidden Leaf. For these people life went on as normal unaware of the danger brewing in my master's heart.

'My former master's heart.'

"Why did your shinobi bring me here?"

Tsunade yawned "You wouldn't believe that it was because you were in need of help would you?"

A shake of my head and two words - "Not really." - summed up my position on that topic.

"Didn't think so. Anko thought you might be a spy trying to perfect a new jutsu. It was the only way she could account for the destruction of woods she found you in."

My amused grin brought out one of her own "Do you get many spies that learn their techniques while on the clock?"

Her inspection of my wounds did little to deter her conversational skills as she continued "That's what I told the girl too. By the way you never mentioned your name."

"Forgive me. I am Nezumi Sadao, eldest son of the late Daimyo of the Nezumi-Bito."

"Nezumi?!" Tsunade shouted, eyes widening, but she calmed down remarkably quickly "No wonder you survived. Only one of the Youma could survive that kind of punishment."

Youma...demon. A name given all of the spirit folk by the humans. Koga, kitsune, nezumi...all Youma. All the same to most of mankind.

'Why can they not understand that not all of us are monsters?'

The Legendary Sannin are different though. Fifteen years ago they came to our aid against the Koga-Bito...the wolf demons. Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru.

Tsunade looked me over a little more carefully noticing this time the kanji's tattooed into my right shoulder and the palms of my hands.

"It is my shame for not announcing myself properly to you when you entered but dark thoughts have weighed heavily on my mind since my father's death."

"I remember him." the medic-nin's eyes halfway closed "He was a strong leader and good man...err, rat. Whatever."

Watching a mockingbird hovering outside she never saw my grin. Humans always have trouble when it comes speaking of the rat folk but they hate it when you laugh at them about it.

"How did he die?" she asked softly. Whether out of respect for my father or for my own feelings I don't know.

It was inevitable that she ask this, of course, but with his murderer still free...

Bowing my head to the Hokage I gave the only answer I could "Forgive me, Princess Tsunade. With the loss of our Clan and his murder the grief is still too new."

A gasp escaped her "Your Clan is gone?"

"Only a handful of the Nezumi-Bito still live. All hiding as I am in human form with the Kanji of the Monkey's Face." For the first time since this began tears fell from my eyes "None of my brothers and sisters made it."

Strong arms wrapped around me, Tsunade pulling me close as I cried for my kinsmen. Her scent taking me back to our first meeting.

_"What's your name, rat boy?" the blond human asked ignoring the conversation at the Nezumi-Bito Daimyo's table._

_A small man-like rat stared up at the woman in awe. Never before had he seen one of the monkeys up close and now three of them sat around his father's table._

_"Sadao." he squeaked._

_"Well, Sadao. I'm Tsunade." the shinobi smiled at the little rat before asking her next question._

_"Do the rat folk have any casinos?"_

Pulling off of her shoulder I struggled to regain my composure. The son of the Daimyo of the Horned Rat Clan must control his emotions.

Tsunade leapt to her feet suddenly as if jerked by strings "I met you when we were in the nezumi village Shizo! You never did tell me where the casino was!"

Sweatdrop.

She shook her head "But that's not important now. The question is: what do we do with you?"

'It always comes back to that, does it not?'

"I will heal in a matter of days then I will leave..." the words broke off into a sharp "OW!"

Tsunade lowered her fist not looking at the quickly swelling knot on my head "Baka. I'm not going to kick out a homeless rat."

'What is she getting at?'

"You're going to become a ninja of Konoha to pay off your medical expenses!" she beamed at me as if her statement didn't break a half a hundred rules.

After she left I came to the only possible conclusion - if I am indebted to the Legendary Sucker I am never getting out of debt.

"Shit."

And if the village knew that they were about to their first nezumi shinobi they would have agreed.

Shit, indeed.

Author's notes, pt 2:

Is this chapter weird or is it just me? Please tell me if it needs to be rewritten. Actually tell me anything useful about it - what you liked, what you didn't, etc. All welcome.

Next Chapter - Naruto returns from the Valley of the End!


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